Programs provide the ability to bring together distinct projects to give an overview of financial performance. The individual projects within a program can have different teams, sprints, and workflows, and can sync with JIRA independently. By using Programs in Forecast, you can maintain a real-time view of profitability and total revenue for a group of projects, while also managing multiple projects under a Fixed Price Program or an overarching Program revenue cap.
This article covers:
- About Program Management
- Program Management vs Project Management
- Programs vs Connected Projects
- Permissions for Program access
- Related articles
About Program Management
Program management is the simultaneous management of multiple related projects. Because they’re coordinated under the same program umbrella, program managers can streamline the associated processes, staffing, and management of each project thus increasing the efficiency of the team. Programs are not only a collection of projects in Forecast. Programs also allow for financial monitoring and tweaking which gives the user the ability to better control the project's financial information.
Key benefits include:
- Higher probability of achieving strategic organizational goals
- Greater transparency of project interdependencies
- More effective resource management across different projects
Program Management vs Project Management
Project Management
A project is a collection of tasks meant to accomplish a specific goal for external or internal purposes. Project management is the process of planning, managing, and executing your team’s work. A project management tool, such as Forecast, helps teams do that by increasing clarity and improving team collaboration.
Program Management
A program is a group of projects that accomplishes strategic business goals. For example, if your organization will be delivering on several different and unique projects throughout a quarter or a year, this would be considered a program. Program management helps you manage longer-term, interdependent feature launches in alignment with the organization's goals. The program will include a variety of related projects, which may each have a project manager and supporting team members. In Forecast, Programs also allow the user to manage the financial aspects of the projects that belong to a program.
Programs vs Connected Projects
Forecast provides users with the option to use both Connected Project and Programs. However, there are some key differences between the two features. Specifically, a Connected Project cannot be part of a Program. The two are exclusive to each other. This means that the user has to decide which of these two features serves them the best. To that end, below there are some key points that these two features can assist a user with.
Connected Projects should be used when:
- It is necessary to combine Workflow, and Sprints.
- It is required to assign the same team members across all projects that fall under the connected project.
- The focus is not on overarching financials.
Programs should be used when:
- It is necessary to monitor overarching financials.
- Projects assigned to a program have their own workflow, sprint, team members, and require an integration with JIRA.
Permissions for Program access
As with most features in Forecast, not every user can interact with Programs. There are certain permissions that are required for a user to not only be able to view Programs but also interact with them. Forecast permissions are separated into Default Permissions and Custom Permissions.
For Default Permissions
Admins, Controllers, and Managers are able to view and manage Programs while Collaborators are only able to view them.
For Custom Permissions
Admins can enable two different options from the Permissions tab to grant access to Programs.
- Access all projects and programs: Access to all projects and programs on the account, independent of being part of the project or program team
- Manage Programs: Ability to create new programs, add/remove projects to a program and manage projects.
Additionally, access to financials must also be enabled in order to view Program Financials. Programs financials include revenue while project financials include revenue and cost depending on the level of access selected.
- View financial information: Access to all financial features including Baseline, Budget, Periods & the Project Portfolio Report - viewing revenue, cost & profit
- View financial information, revenue only: Access to all financial features including Baseline, Budget, Periods & the Project Portfolio Report - viewing only revenue
Learn more about permissions and your Program Team members in Adding Program Team Members.
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